Brandon's picture
Brandon from KCMO is reading Made to Break October 3, 2011 - 6:38am

My two most recent purchases were The Marriage Plot by Eugenides and Machine Man by Max Barry.

What about you guys?

Chester Pane's picture
Chester Pane from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz October 3, 2011 - 6:55am

I keep hearing good things about The Marriage Plot.

 


Recent:

Aftermath by Scott Nadelson

a visit from the goon squad by Jennifer Egan

Stories an Anthology edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio

The Devil all the Time by Donald Ray Pollock

(I'm going on a book bender at Wordstock this coming weekend, so I will have a good list for you then)

Brandon's picture
Brandon from KCMO is reading Made to Break October 3, 2011 - 6:59am

I really enjoyed Pollock's new one.

I'm hoping he ventures into new territory with his next release though.  The whole Knockemstiff thing has been covered.

Renfield's picture
Renfield from Hell is reading 20th Century Ghosts October 3, 2011 - 7:02am

A second hand copy of The Selected Novels and Stories of Joseph Conrad.

Chester Pane's picture
Chester Pane from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz October 3, 2011 - 7:05am

@Brandon :I bet that's what he's probably thinking too. But what a great introduction to an exciting new writer. 

edit: can't wait for the quote button!

Hey Rennie, miss your aggravated Avatar.

Renfield's picture
Renfield from Hell is reading 20th Century Ghosts October 3, 2011 - 8:19am

I'll have to alternate between the two to reflect my current demeanor in the  workshops. You will come to fear the aggrovatar.

alance07's picture
alance07 from New Jersey is reading A Visit from the Goon Squad October 3, 2011 - 8:43am

Lost it at a closing borders :

Imperial Bedrooms -Ellis
Eleanor rigby- Coupland
Visit from the GOon Squad-Egan

Meachman's picture
Meachman from Indianapolis is reading Amusing Ourselves to Death October 3, 2011 - 9:16am

A Happy Death -- Camus
Syrup -- Max Barry
One Hundred Years of Solitude -- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Angel Dust Apocalypse -- Jeremy Robert Johnson

All for less than $10 at used book store
 

Charles's picture
Charles from Portland is reading Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones October 3, 2011 - 11:48am

dammit brandon you beat me to it. this is my longest living thread over at the cult

i havent bought any books in a while, which is odd for me, but durden did send me the best erotica from 2003, which contains the first glimpses of CHOKE. does that count?

Brandon's picture
Brandon from KCMO is reading Made to Break October 3, 2011 - 11:55am

Yeah, been kind of going back there and taking the threads that are actually worth a damn.  Consider it a compliment.

Destructo the Mad's picture
Destructo the Mad from Canada is reading Blood Meridian October 3, 2011 - 1:51pm

Reamde, Neal Stephenson

Moneyball, Michael Lewis.

Both for the Kindle because Reamde is too bloody big to carry around in paper.

.'s picture
. October 3, 2011 - 2:07pm

The Richard Bachman Collection from a Goodwill. 

Brandon Macdonald's picture
Brandon Macdonald from Brantford, Ontario is reading Hell's Angels, Hunter S. Thompson October 3, 2011 - 2:21pm

The most recent book I purchased was Slaughterhouse Five. But I just got On The Road by Jack Kerouac from a friend.

Mike Mckay's picture
Mike Mckay is reading God's Ashtray October 3, 2011 - 4:17pm

Full Dark, No Stars - Stephen King

278 pages in and its great.

esfgirlwrites's picture
esfgirlwrites from Northeast US is reading A Song of Ice and Fire October 3, 2011 - 6:48pm

I'm always on the hunt for science books, and I hit upon a huge sale at a Borders that was closing down, so my most recent purchases are a little academic.  They are:

The End of Oil: On the Edge of a Perilous New World - Paul Roberts

The World Without Us - Alan Weisman

Forbidden Creatures: Inside the World of Animal Smuggling and Exotic Pets - Peter Laufer

Out of Eden:  An Odyssey of Ecological Invasion - Alan Burdick

Hold Your Water! 68 Things You Need to Know to Keep Our Planet Blue- Steeve Creech

Ever more for my growing collection! 

Nick Wilczynski's picture
Nick Wilczynski from Greensboro, NC is reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin October 3, 2011 - 6:57pm

A collection of Tolstoy short stories (translations on the opposing page) and an anthology of articles designed to illustrate the history and culture of weekly alternatve newspapers called 'Notes from the Underground' (not by Fyodor)

Nav Persona's picture
Nav Persona from Purgatory is reading The Babayaga October 3, 2011 - 7:32pm

Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (I got this one for my almost-14-yr-old daughter for us to read and discuss together)

Phil Keeling's picture
Phil Keeling from Savannah, Georgia is reading Virtual Ascendence October 3, 2011 - 8:05pm

Also just bought The Devil All The Time--really enjoying it so far. 

@Jack -- I also bought my copy of the Richard Bachman collection at a Goodwill, so that's odd.

Also got a second-hand copy of Portnoy's Complaint, an audiobook of Christopher Moore's Lamb, an a Gideon Bible I stole from an abandoned battered women's shelter. 

william.c.cathey's picture
william.c.cathey from Georgia is reading What Is The What October 4, 2011 - 9:44pm

Geek Love (Katherine Dunn) and Survivor (Chuck Palahniuk) r next in line

Alex Kane's picture
Alex Kane from west-central Illinois is reading Dark Orbit October 5, 2011 - 8:05am

Steel and Other Stories by Richard Matheson

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Spook Country by William Gibson

Dovanna's picture
Dovanna from Minneapolis is reading REAMDE by Neal Stephenson October 6, 2011 - 12:05pm

@Destructo the Mad - I'm getting a Nook for my birthday next month but I couldn't wait to get the new Stephenson novel. The thing is a friggin' brick, and I had to switch to a new purse just so I could carry it around with me. 

Charles's picture
Charles from Portland is reading Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones October 6, 2011 - 12:06pm

the last one i bought was the samaritan, for the cult book club. my opions are mixed right now.

Alessio Patanè's picture
Alessio Patanè from sicily is reading Winesburg, Ohio by S. Anderson October 6, 2011 - 1:02pm

Twenty-Seventh City by Jonathan Franzen

Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

Kate Winters's picture
Kate Winters from Toronto is reading James Rollins' Sigma Force series October 6, 2011 - 1:14pm

I'm not allowed to buy books at the moment... :(

Greg Eidson's picture
Greg Eidson from Los Angeles, CA is reading THOMAS PYNCHON'S BLEEDING EDGE October 6, 2011 - 1:18pm

I'm halfway through Glamorama. I never got a chance to actually finish it and I love it so much. 

Klassy's picture
Klassy from San Francisco is reading Reamde by Neal Stephenson, and Supergods by Grant Morrison October 6, 2011 - 2:37pm

Reamde by Neal Stephenson, A Moment in the Sun by John Sayles, Supergods by Grant Morrison.

Laramore Black's picture
Laramore Black from Joplin, Missouri is reading Mario Kart 8 October 6, 2011 - 3:05pm

I haven't bought a book in a long time.

Recently downloaded this book called "Steal this Book" by Abby Hoffman. She wrote it in prison and it's got millions of ways to cheat the american system. Most of it is outdated, but I am fascinated by anarchistic things.

Achillez's picture
Achillez from Long Island, New York is reading The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway October 6, 2011 - 3:16pm

JFK and the Unspeakable by James W. Douglas

DMT: The Spirit Molecule by Rick Strassman (research for something I'm writing)

Goodbye 20th Century: a Biography of Sonic Youth by David Browne

Nav Persona's picture
Nav Persona from Purgatory is reading The Babayaga October 6, 2011 - 3:36pm

Shonen Jump, May 2005

Claymore, volume 15

Urgent Care by Hannah Alexander

Second Opinion by Hannah Alexander

Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters by Matt Ridley

Anthem by Ayn Rand

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

Nick Wilczynski's picture
Nick Wilczynski from Greensboro, NC is reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin October 6, 2011 - 4:02pm

I always thought Anthem was her best book..

william.c.cathey's picture
william.c.cathey from Georgia is reading What Is The What October 6, 2011 - 4:10pm

Another $20 to Amazon for:

A Kiss Before Dying -- Ira Levin

Love Is A Mixtape: Life and Loss, One Song At A Time -- Rob Sheffield

Burning In Water, Drowning In Flame(Poems) --  Charles Bukowski

Nav Persona's picture
Nav Persona from Purgatory is reading The Babayaga October 6, 2011 - 4:13pm

mmmm... Bukowski

.'s picture
. October 6, 2011 - 4:19pm

@Achillez: DMT: The Spirit Molecule by Rick Strassman (research for something I'm writing)

I bought this a few weeks ago. What are you writing if I may ask.

Achillez's picture
Achillez from Long Island, New York is reading The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway October 6, 2011 - 6:43pm

@jacks_username: Working on a novel based on this kid I know. He took ayahuasca and a few weeks later he swore he was hearing voices. He's an atheist and in the book the voice is implied to be some sort of God. He struggles with his beliefs, and we're never entirely sure if the voices are real or simple hallucinations.

That being said, it's coming along very slowly. I've started over twice already, but I like where it's going this time. It's just hard to find time to write when I have so much work to do for school.

m1r0k0v's picture
m1r0k0v from Nebraska is reading Complete Collection of Sherlock Holmes October 6, 2011 - 8:05pm

Just bought Machine Man by Max Berry and Flaming Zeppelins: The Adventures of Ned the Seal by Joe R. Lansdale.

Nav Persona's picture
Nav Persona from Purgatory is reading The Babayaga October 7, 2011 - 7:34pm

Psyren by Toshiaki Iwashiro

Laddertop (1) by Orson Scott Card

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Witch & Wizard by James Patterson

 

otaku's picture
otaku from Liverpool is reading Sleepless - Charlie Huston October 7, 2011 - 7:52pm

Recently ordered Beautiful Children  - Charles Bock and The Devotion of Suspect X - Keigo Higashino, can't wait to see if that one lives up to the hype. Also preordered Murakami's 1Q84 (books 1 - 3) and waiting on my signed copy of Damned from St. Helens Bookshop (but surely that goes without saying doesn't it?)

Nav Persona's picture
Nav Persona from Purgatory is reading The Babayaga October 10, 2011 - 10:36am

Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher

Edit:

oops.. forgot to add:

Stay Go d by Nik Korpon

A. William's picture
A. William from Minnesota is reading Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon October 10, 2011 - 10:49am

Finally picked up a copy of Rant, one of the few Palahniuk's I've yet to read.

I'm still on the hunt for Drive by James Sallis though...

Waterhouse's picture
Waterhouse from Columbus is reading Bullet Park, John Cheever October 10, 2011 - 10:53am

Peer Polity Interaction and Socio-Politcal Change and The Archaeology of Measurement: Comprehending Heaven Earth and Time in Ancient Societies, both edited by Colin Renfrew, Baron Of Kaimsthorne, Ph.D and all around archaeological bad ass. (Both books are because of my areas of interest and research for a set of short stories.)

Maggie Cassiday was a birthday gift, so that probably does not count, but found a really good copy of The Town and the City by Kerouac at a used book store which is next on my fiction reading list.

 

.'s picture
. October 10, 2011 - 5:30pm

@Achillez

Interesting concept for a novel. Psychedelics changed me (in a good way). Poor kid though, sounds like he has schizophrenia from it though. I'm not doctor though. Good luck finishing your novel, I know my own is taking me forever to write. 

Stay God. (For my kindle)

The first compendium of The Walking Dead.

Elements of Style. 

Chester Pane's picture
Chester Pane from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz October 10, 2011 - 7:42pm

Shit my wallet at Wordstock:

A Common Pornography by Kevin Sampsell

Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem

Zazen by Vanessa Veselka

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

Wildwood by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy

Everything and More by David Foster Wallace

The Wordstock 10, 2011 Short Fiction Contest Anthology

 

Dr. Gonzo's picture
Dr. Gonzo from Manchester, UK is reading Blood Meridian October 15, 2011 - 8:55am

HMV... I love you. I've been wanting to try some Delillo for a while and today I went in HMV and got White Noise and Cosmopolis for £2 each.

Nick Wilczynski's picture
Nick Wilczynski from Greensboro, NC is reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin October 15, 2011 - 9:49am

Tell me what you think of Chronic City when you finish it, Chester. Personally I didn't finish it, and the value of it is such to me that I can't even find a used bookstore that will buy it or give me trade-in value for it. In fact, that book gave kind of a bad first impression for Lethem.

And just to clarify, I LOVE books about NYC, and I also love books about Mary Jane, but the plot just never seemed to be going anywhere.

Brandon's picture
Brandon from KCMO is reading Made to Break October 15, 2011 - 9:29am

Just got Everything Matters! by Ron Currie Jr.

Nighty Nite's picture
Nighty Nite from NJ is reading Grimscribe: His Lives and Works October 15, 2011 - 10:09am

Recently bought:

 

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Crash by J.G. Ballard

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

 

Hoping to read them in that order by early November.

Nick Wilczynski's picture
Nick Wilczynski from Greensboro, NC is reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin October 15, 2011 - 10:24am

Good luck, but in my experience the last book on that list has no respect for deadlines. Make sure you bring 2 separate bookmarks.

Nighty Nite's picture
Nighty Nite from NJ is reading Grimscribe: His Lives and Works October 15, 2011 - 10:30am

Yeah, I realized pretty fast it's wishful thinking. I'll probably be set 'til Christmas.

Nick Wilczynski's picture
Nick Wilczynski from Greensboro, NC is reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin October 15, 2011 - 10:39am

But, for the record, OMG that book is awesome. I love DFW. In fact, if I may be so bold to offer my advice, get Oblivion or some of his other short story/essay compilations too. Oblivion, in particular, has a short story titled "Another Pioneer" that will blow your fucking mind.

But, you should finish Infinite Jest first, you have to keep at that book or it will make you retreat and then two months since you last touched it you're trying to figure out what page you were on by reversing the endnote references and trying to remember all the crazy story arcs.

Brandon's picture
Brandon from KCMO is reading Made to Break October 15, 2011 - 2:23pm

Look at Nighty Nite buying my all-time favorite book.  Enjoy!

.'s picture
. October 15, 2011 - 2:55pm

Yeah I just finished Crash, very awesome book.